The 2017 General Chapter, 15-22 July
22th July: The Closing of the 2017 General Chapter. Sr Franceline Hien et Sr Marie-Ange Ndayishimiye ont présenté une saynète : une allumette et une bougie ne peuvent remplir leur mission qu’en se mettant ensemble. L’allumette allume la bougie et les deux donnent lumière en se consumant. The Eucharist: 21th July: This morning’s hymn was: : “Great things happen when God mixes with us”. The capitulants study the draft of the final document… 20 th July: The peripheries were the theme of Morning Prayer. The paper hearts were collected in a basket. On them the Sisters had written a periphery to which they felt called today. Each one picked a heart and carried that periphery with the other. 19th July: ‘Go, I am sending you out!’ The road is traced before us. Each one fixes the paper with the call that…
A new General Council
13th July 2017: We announce to you with joy the election of Carmen Sammut as Superior General ! 15th July: Election of three assistants The new General Council: Sr Carmen Sammut, MaltaSr. Juliana Karomba, TanzaniaSr. Mapendo Masirika Annonciata, D.R. CongoSr. Maria del Carmen Ocón Moreno, Spain
The 2017 General Chapter, 8-15 July
15 July : A new General Council : The new General Council: Sr Juliana Karomba, Tanzania Sr Carmen Sammut, Malte,Superior General Sr Mapendo Masirika Annonciata, D.R.. Congo Sr Maria del Carmen Ocón Moreno, Spain 13th July: Sr Carmen Sammut, elected for a second mandate, as Superior General. We give thanks to God ! Let us pray for her ! Sr Carmen Sammut’s homily – April 30, 2016 Sr Carmen Sammut, Synod on the Family, week 3 Sr Carmen Sammut, Synod on the Family, week 2 Interview with Sr Carmen Sammut Sister Carmen Sammut, Synod on the Family URGENT appeal for the EARTH of Sister Carmen Sammut 12th July: Prepared for a day of election: The decoration in the Chapel with Our Lady of Africa and Mother Marie Salome. Let us pray with Our Lady of Africa and with All the Saints of Africa 11th July : The Source…
The 2017 General Chapter, day after day, 1-7 July
7th July: Pictures: Sr. Franceline Hien drumming Dance from Burundi Dance from Ghana Thanking Ms Marina van Dalen Canada « Aaalouette, je te plumerai » Singing the Refrain : « Aaalouette, je te plumerai » Example of a ‘wordle’ with the hymn “Si le Pere vous appelle” Cardinal Peter Turkson (his text was quoted during morning prayer) 6th July: ‘The peripheries’ was the topic chosen for the prayer with a text from Sr Mary Sujita SND, The context of our mission today– the peripheries of our globalized world. The linguistic groups: 4th July: Mark 6, 30-43 (look at pictures) Report of Sr Daphne Alphonso,the Treasurer General and assorted sharing : Sisters in Temporary Vows, Sr Franceline Hien and Sr Marie-Ange Ndayishimiye. Madame Marina van Dalen, Coordinator of the Netherlands. Video Message from Càrol Garcia Murillo, MSOLA associate member. Sr. Elisabeth Biela and Sr. Valérie Kaboré presented the work of…
Message of Cardinal Fernando Filoni
Message of His Eminence Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples to the Participants of the XXV° General Chapter of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (Jul 1-13, 2017) To the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa gathered for the XXV° General Chapter – Rome I am most happy to warmly greet you Mother Carmela Sammut, Superior General, and all of the Sisters participating in your XXV° General Chapter, which is a particularly graced moment in the life of your religious community. General Chapters gather Sisters from many different countries and diverse cultures to listen and to share with one another, attentive to the voice of the Spirit that brings to life the memory of your Founders. In this context you are called to confront with all of the richness and diversity…
First vows of Victorine Bulangalire
You who want to follow Christ, Come as you are, whatever your motivation, your story. He is there, He walks by our side and goes with us. Whatever difficulties you encounter, open your mind to Him and let Him lead you, even if it is sometimes difficult to understand. Do not be discouraged, however hard and long the way may be. He alone, in his own time. I come from a Christian family. I lost my parents very early. There was a neighbor who questioned her children saying, “Why do you behave like children who have no parents? ” This word disgusted me, and placing myself among her children, I understood that it was we who were behaving badly. In my parish there were sisters of the Daughters of the Resurrection. I saw them as those who behave well. I felt inspired by religious life and wanted to be…
Prayer for the 2017 General Chapter
Holy Spirit, You who put in our hearts a passion for God, for Africa and for all humanity, Look upon us, Revive in us the ardor of Cardinal Lavigerie and our first sisters, so that our preparation for the next Chapter will be as you desire. Help us to accept our fears, our uncertainties, our failures and our sorrows. May hope lead us beyond our borders! May it allow us to dream and dare the unthinkable! Give us the vision and freedom of heart needed to accept lucidly and humbly the Mission you want to entrust to us for the coming of your Kingdom in the world today. Grant us the grace to commit ourselves all together, and each one personally with our whole being to the service of our sisters and brothers who live in the peripheries of our societies. Keep us attentive to your voice, confident that…
A special experience in Tunis
A special experience beyond cultural and religious differences Testimony of Sylvie: I responded with enthusiasm to the invitation of the “White Sisters” of Tunis to set out to discover the Church of Tunisia. A Living Church: During our stay, I discovered a living Church thanks to our different encounters: with catholics from sub-Saharan Africa studying in Tunis, Christian expatriates lay or not who lived all their lives in Tunisia and Tunisian catholics. We left with my brothers and sisters from Poland in the footsteps of the first Christians: Saints Perpetua and Felicite martyred in Tunis; Saint Cyprian, Saint Augustine, Saint Louis and Saint Vincent de Paul who left their mark on the city as we have observed through our visits. Breaking down prejudices: Nowadays, when the fear of Islam can become a terrible constraint on dialogue, Tunisian Muslim families in the city of Kef have opened their doors to…
Blessing of the stone bearing the names of our sisters
Today we come to remember our sisters who lived their consecration to the end and died a violent death. We want to be inspired by their fidelity and the gift of their lives. Pope Francis during the ceremony to commemorate the modern martyrs at the Church of St Bartolomeo in Rome in April 2017, said: “How often, in difficult moments of history, have we heard it said: ‘Today our country needs heroes’? Likewise, we can ask, ‘Today, what does our Church need?’ Martyrs, witnesses, that is, everyday saints of ordinary life, lives lived coherently.” We are all called to this. “But we also need those who have the courage to accept the grace to be witnesses until the end, until death. Martyrs are the witnesses who carry forward the Church; those who witness to the fact that Jesus is risen, that Jesus is alive, who witness…